Way of the Fathers

  He was a believer for little more than a decade, but in that time he managed to set one of the pre-eminent examples of Christian leadership. Before his conversion, Cyprian had lived the Carthaginian dream. He was wealthy and successful, but miserable and maybe addicted to drink and other pleasures. With his baptism came a transformation. Within a year he was ordained a priest. In two years he was bishop over all of North Africa. His years in office were a time of unprecedented crisis. His Church faced persecution, pandemic, catastrophic climate change, and famine. He managed all with grace and won his prominent place in history before dying as a martyr. Links The Life and Passion of Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1732 Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise: On the Lapsed https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1708 Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise: On the Mortality (Or Plague) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1712 Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 62: On the Sacrament of the Cup of the Lord https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1779 More works by the Fathers https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/ Mike Aquilina's website https://fathersofthechurch.com Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org.

He started as a papal critic, became history's first antipope, and today is honored — with the pope he rejected — as a saint whose feast day is universal. Go figure. Hippolytus of Rome is one of the great curiosities of early Christian history. In ancient times he was known for his encyclopedic books of theology, which became standard reference works in the centuries to follow. The Church revived his Mass prayers in the last century, and they're still in use today. Links The Refutation of All Heresies https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1706 The Extant Works and Fragments of Hippolytus: Part I.—exegetical https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1728 The Extant Works and Fragments of Hippolytus: Part II.—dogmatical and Historical https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1730 More works by the Fathers https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/ Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of http://www.ccwatershed.org.

Alexandria, in Egypt, was the intellectual capital of the Greco-Roman world, and as the second century turned to the third it emerged as an influential center of Christian thought. Its first impression was spectacular — and it all came from a teacher named Clement. He was a seeker after truth, and had traveled the Mediterranean to study under the greatest Christian teachers. He settled in Alexandria, the site of a newly founded school, and eventually he came to lead the school. Several of Clement's works have survived, including his great trilogy on the spiritual and moral life. Any Christian who has pursued the life of prayer in the great Christian tradition has encountered ideas developed by Clement. Links Who Is the Rich Man that Shall Be Saved? https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1650 Exhortation to the Heathen https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1658 The Instructor [Paedagogus.] https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1659 The Stromata, or Miscellanies, Books I-II https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1660 The Stromata, or Miscellanies, Books III-V https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1661 The Stromata, or Miscellanies, Books VI-VIII https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1648 Mike Aquilina on the school of Alexandria https://fathersofthechurch.com/2006/10/24/out-of-egypt/ More works by the Fathers https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/ Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of http://www.ccwatershed.org.

Perpetua of Carthage is almost unique in the literature of her time. She is a woman and a writer. Over the course of centuries, traditional Greco-Roman culture produced very few female writers. Nor did ancient literature bother much with the particular concerns of women. So Perpetua stands out as a witness to women’s experience in the third century—and the changed status of women in the Church. A Christian martyr, she kept a diary while in jail. The diary records ordinary details, such as visits from family members and the conditions of the prison. But it also tells of extraordinary visions. Perpetua speaks of pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and weaning. In prison she emerges as a charismatic leader of her fellow Christians. Her diary is an extraordinary record, and it is a beautiful meditation on Christian life. Links Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity (Perpetua's Diary) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1678 The Story of Saint Perpetua (animated feature)  https://brotherfrancisstore.com/collections/catholic-heroes-of-the-faith/products/catholic-heroes-of-the-faith-the-story-of-saint-perpetua The Passion of Saint Perpetua (documentary) https://brotherfrancisstore.com/collections/catholic-heroes-of-the-faith/products/catholic-heroes-of-the-faith-the-passion-of-saint-perpetua Perpetua’s Song https://brotherfrancisstore.com/products/perpetuas-song-audio-download More works by the Fathers https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/ Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of http://www.ccwatershed.org.

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Thank Tertullian of Carthage for his role in forming a distinctively western Christianity. He gave us words in our own language to express the inexpressible: words like Trinity and Sacrament. He also introduced the world to the idea of freedom of conscience. Our civilization rests on his ideas. Links Tertullian, Apology https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1662 Tertullian, To Scapula https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1682 More works by the Fathers https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/ Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of http://www.ccwatershed.org.  

Sarcastic, bombastic, and brilliant, Tertullian of Carthage may be the most entertaining of the Church Fathers. He also did more than anyone else to launch theology in the Latin language. His life and his work were provocations to his opponents—who included many pagans and more than a few Christians. Learn about him (and the fascinating world of early North African Christianity) in this episode. Links Tertullian, Apology https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1662 More works by the Fathers https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/ Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of http://www.ccwatershed.org.  

Marcus Minucius Felix is one of the greatest writers you never heard of. His “Octavius,” written in the late second century, is a work of fictionalized memoir set in the resort town of Ostia. Three friends go to the beach, and in a day of walks and conversation one of them leads another to conversion. It is the most deeply human study we have of the  early Christians, describing the feel of the ocean breezes and the sand between their toes — and the best arguments for believing. Links The Octavius by Minucius Felix https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1688 More works by the Fathers https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/ Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of http://www.ccwatershed.org.

He was a prophet living altogether in the Spirit. He was a second-century apologist, able to elucidate the doctrine of Christ for the understanding of strangers. He was a bishop, so he spoke with hierarchical authority. For us, though, Melito of Sardis is most valuable for the Paschal liturgy he left us. It is an important witness to Jewish-Christian relations at a crucial time in their development. His Peri Pascha serves well for the Lenten-Easter seasons and for a lifetime. Links Melito’s “Peri Pascha” in English https://www.amazon.com/Pascha-Fragments-Material-Quartodecimans-Patristics/dp/0881415545/ More works by the Fathers https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/ Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com Donate today! https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of http://www.ccwatershed.org.

In the late second century the Church suffered an infestation of heresies — many of them, and they kept changing their claims. Into the fray God sent the great pioneer of anti-heretical literature, Irenaeus of Lyons. The title of his best known work says it all: Against Heresies. Irenaeus’s tools range from logic to parody. He put the smack down on some strains of heresy, and they stayed down for centuries. Links Free text of Book 3 of Irenaeus's "Against Heresies" https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1612 Pope Benedict XVI on Irenaeus https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1610 More works by the Fathers https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/ Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of http://www.ccwatershed.org.